Default mode network connectivity as a function of familial and environmental risk for psychotic disorder.
Sanne C. T. Peeters, Vincent G Van de Ven, Ed H B M Gronenschild, Ameera X Patel, Petra Habets, Rainer Goebel, Jim van Os, Machteld Marcelis
PLoS One 2015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120030 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 228 |
| Population | Patients with psychotic disorder, their non-psychotic siblings, and healthy controls |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | Patients with psychotic disorder and their non-psychotic siblings showed increased posterior cingulate connectivity with the inferior parietal lobule, precuneus, and medial prefrontal cortex compared to healthy controls, with siblings intermediate. DMN connectivity was not significantly associated with psychotic or cognitive symptoms, and familial risk effects were not conditional on cannabis, developmental trauma, or urbanicity. |
Abstract
Research suggests that altered interregional connectivity in specific networks, such as the default mode network (DMN), is associated with cognitive and psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. In addition, frontal and limbic connectivity alterations have been associated with trauma, drug use and urban upbringing, though these environmental exposures have never been examined in relation to DMN functional connectivity in psychotic disorder. Resting-state functional MRI scans were obtained from 73 patients with psychotic disorder, 83 non-psychotic siblings of patients with psychotic disorder and 72 healthy controls. Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) seed-based correlation analysis was used to estimate functional connectivity within the DMN. DMN functional connectivity was examined in relation to group (familial risk), group × environmental exposure (to cannabis, developmental trauma and urbanicity) and symptomatology. There was a significant association between group and PCC connectivity with the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), the precuneus (PCu) and the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Compared to controls, patients and siblings had increased PCC connectivity with the IPL, PCu and MPFC. In the IPL and PCu, the functional connectivity of siblings was intermediate to that of controls and patients. No significant associations were found between DMN connectivity and (subclinical) psychotic/cognitive symptoms. In addition, there were no significant interactions between group and environmental exposures in the model of PCC functional connectivity. Increased functional connectivity in individuals with (increased risk for) psychotic disorder may reflect trait-related network alterations. The within-network "connectivity at rest" intermediate phenotype was not associated with (subclinical) psychotic or cognitive symptoms. The association between familial risk and DMN connectivity was not conditional on environmental exposure.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis | |
| Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2009 | Experimental study using fMRI | |
| Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants | 2013 | Experimental study | |
| The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers | 2012 | Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis |
Citations in the library
Cited by 1
Cites 4
- Default Mode Network Activity and Connectivity in Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology March 29, 2012
- The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Neuroimage June 13, 2008
- Functional connectivity alterations in brain networks relevant to self-awareness in chronic cannabis users. Journal of Psychiatric Research April 2014
- Evidence of increased activation underlying cognitive control in ecstasy and cannabis users. Neuroimage August 15, 2010